A visual and sonic swirl of 1001 delights, The Thief of Bagdad is not a remake of the silent Fairbanks film, but an entire rewrite from the pen of Miles Malleson, who we know better as a familiar character actor in dozens of English classics. Malleson's flair for whimsy and fairytale poetry are unparalleled; his dialogue is inspired. The purity of the Prince and Princess is such that they transcend their love talk: their meeting is an inspired expression of the simplicity and magic of Love. The Forbidden Garden where they come together is a metaphor for forbidden carnal knowledge, and they truly meet as lovers do, each the potential dream fantasy of the other. Informed with tidings of certain Death, it's no Disney version of True Love: Malleson even salts Ahmed's deception with a wry wit: "Very good genii are just as tiresome as very good men."

The mechanics of absolute power are made clear with 1/10th the effort of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - the Sultan (Malleson himself) is a vain fuddy-duddy more concerned with toys than a wise rule. He loves his daughter but is easily conned into parting with her in exchange for a magical mechanical horse. Jaffar is perhaps the best villain ever in a fantasy film, a cagey, charming schemer who relates to the world only through conspiracy and murder, yet with a completely understandable desire to be loved. Cruelty is a given in this world of despots and the downtrodden, with executions a daily ritual and death mandated for the simplest crime, even just looking at the Princess passing in the street.

And the magical realm remains wondrous, after repeated viewings. This fantasy world isn't ruled by gods or demons, but simply inhabited by the occasional fantastic being, like Rex Ingram's towering, bellowing Genie. He has his own perspective on the workings of the world, and is quite happy to dispense wisdom to Abu, even while preparing to crush him underfoot. Out-conned by the tiny thief, the Genie likewise yearns for his own emancipation: "Free! Free! FREE!"

Played with a direct enthusiasm by Sabu, our young beggar thief is a wonderful package of conflicting ideas - loyalty, ambition, and a desire for adventure. Like everyone else in the picture, he struggles to find his destiny, and succeeds by placing the problems of others ahead of his own. Cunning and brave, clad only in a sash and armed only with a knife, he has the courage to face the unknown and combat creatures no man has seen. He outsmarts a monster spider in its own lair, and puts himself in the first rank of thieves by stealing the sacred object of a remote civilization. The maturity of The Thief of Bagdad lies in its lack of dull moralizing: the world is full of thieves of all kinds, and the story sees no harm in the enterprise of the dispossessed. A mischievous chapter finds Abu lost in a far land of old wise men, given all the tools he needs to defeat Evil, except a way to get back to Bagdad in time to stop a dreaded execution. There's a magic carpet standing ready to transport him, yet it's been expressly forbidden to Abu by the wise gentlemen who have been so kind to him ...

Some of Alexander Korda's movies have dated, but from a production standpoint, most equal or better work being done in the United States at the time. The Thief of Bagdad is a visual feast and a musical delight. A battery of great designers, including William Cameron Menzies, contributed to the clean sets and exotic costumes.

Several large forced-perspective Bagdad cityscapes are breathtaking elaborations on storybook illustrations. The aforementioned Forbidden Garden, with its serene pastels, is the equal of anything in the sometimes gaudy The Wizard of Oz. The Sultan's palace is a colossal expanse of waxed floors and vaulted ceilings.

In terms of design, the special effects are superior to much work being done today. Instead of our present ethic of convincing through sensory overload, the fantastic settings, characters, and action of The Thief of Bagdad are simplicity made real. Conrad Veidt's menacing gestures are achieved by having a 'shadow man' mimic his movements, so as to throw a perfect silhouette on a wall. Miniatures are used for ships. A giant canyon is effectively reproduced in miniature, with more than one segue between live action and miniature brilliantly achieved.

By not having to be strictly realistic, the effects transcend their sometimes primitive means - the Technicolor travelling mattes have massive blue fringing, but it must be remembered that even if the appropriate filmstocks for mattes and countermattes existed for use (remember, in Technicolor, such effects required not 3, but 9 times the effort), war shortages probably didn't allow for labs to be doing special work for just one film. Lawrence Butler and his team from Things to Come do marvellous work in scale and interaction with the genie, the mountain-top temple, etc. With the added resolution of DVD, the wires used to suspend the magic carpet are clearly visible. Yet the spirit of the story makes such details irrelevant to the enjoyment at hand.

The IMDB says that Glynis Johns and Cleo Laine are somewhere among the film's bit players.

MGM's DVD of The Thief of Bagdad is a good rendering of this vintage classic. The picture element is in practically perfect condition, with vibrant colors that look as good or better than the archive prints Savant has seen. The encoding is at a higher-than necessary rate most of the time - it looked rougher or smoother depending on which DVD player I used.

The audio isn't as fine as I had hoped, because it seems a bit distorted overall, with slightly heavier distortion in the louder base section. There was an earlier laserdisc that I thought had a clearer track, but it's possible the offending strata were just rolled off. The American 35mm prints I've seen, and the 16mm prints, were distorted as well. Let me stress that this flaw is minor one. MGM apparently didn't have access to an audio element to match its good picture.

A colorful trailer in excellent condition is included. An added bonus is a original Spanish Dub track, recorded at a lower volume but with the same level of clarity as the English. The translation and dubbing are excellent.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, The Thief of Bagdad rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Very Good
Sound: Good -
Supplements: Trailer
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: November 16, 2002